60.5 million euros were spent for the coronation and 26 million more to ensure the security of the event. A sum considered “insane” for opponents of the monarchy who propose to save money by establishing a republic.
The British paid the sum of 86.5 million euros for the coronation of Charles III. As a reminder, the king was crowned at Westminster Abbey in May 2023 and a concert was given at Windsor Castle the day after the event. The British authorities revealed all the figures concerning this moment on Thursday, November 21. In detail, 60.5 million euros were disbursed by the Ministry of Culture, Media and Sports. Securing the event, managed by the Ministry of the Interior, cost 26 million euros.
41% of 18-25 year olds want the monarchy to be abolished
This revelation has revived criticism from anti-monarchy people. “It was an extravagance we just didn’t need. It was completely unnecessary and a waste of money in the middle of a cost of living crisis in a country that faces enormous child poverty,” Graham Smith, president of the Republic association, told the Guardian. This movement wants the British monarchy to be abolished and replaced by a republic. According to them, spending 86.5 million euros on a ceremony is “obscene” when “children cannot afford to pay for their meals at school”.
According to a YouGov survey published in 2022, young English people are rather hostile to the monarchy: 41% of 18-25 year olds would prefer a head of state instead of a king. In the population as a whole, this opposition is much lower with only 27% saying they are in favor of the establishment of a republic.
It is a coronation which has been “enjoyed by millions of people, in the United Kingdom and across the world”, recalls the ministry and that it is a moment which has “offered a unique opportunity to celebrate and strengthen our identity national”.
